A stash of weapons including machetes, hammers and knives were found by police after a Sunday parks football match on Sowe Common in Coventry

A lethal cache of weapons, including an 18-inch machete, was seized from spectators after a Sunday parks football match was turned into a battleground by rival hooded gangs.

The sinister armoury, discovered in a touchline holdall during a cup tie between two West Midlands pub sides, also included razor-sharp Stanley knives, hammers and screwdrivers.

It was found by police called to the Sowe Common playing fields in Coventry after a brutal brawl broke out in the game between The Weavers Arms and The Diplomat.

Weavers Arms in Coventry

Cops had been tipped off that the President’s Cup match was a potential powder keg by messages on social network sites advertising it as an opportunity for a clash between rival supporters.

They had officers at the game from the kick-off and when fists started to fly, forcing the game to be abandoned before half-time, back-up was called in.

Children playing on adjoining pitches had to be shepherded to safety because of the violence.

The Birmingham County FA says that there had been simmering tension prior to the X-rated exchanges.

Trouble began brewing when a group of men linked to the Diplomat side gathered near the pitch, and then moved in towards another group close to Weavers Arms officials and players.

The Diplomat in Coventry

The match was halted briefly as rivals exchanged threats, only for the trouble to spill into full-blown violence. A hooded supporter ran onto the pitch and attacked a Diplomat player, igniting a series of touchline brawls.

Soon afterwards a police van and squad car arrived, and the arsenal of weapons was discovered.

According to a shocked eye-witness, one thug – found to be concealing a claw hammer in his tracksuit bottoms – told officers: “But I’m the man who bangs the pegs into the turf...”

In a report to the FA, a veteran Coventry Sunday League official commented: “I have been involved in local football for 30 years, and never seen anything as nasty as this incident.

“This had nothing to do with football or the match. There wasn’t a single booking and the game was goal-less when it was abandoned.”

Instead, it appears that the October 7 fixture was flagged up on the internet as a suitable venue ‘for a knock’ by yobs, who were unaware that police were monitoring their messages.

Weavers Arms FC, who had already been barred by the Bell Green Road pub they play for, have been charged by the FA with failing to ensure players and supporters conduct themselves in an orderly manner.

Robert Sheridan, player and former manager of the Premier Division Two outfit believes that his team are being unfairly singled out.

“We know the lads involved,” said the 25-year-old. “But they are not our fans. They don’t turn up to watch us play.

“We are going to be kicked out of the league – that’s the whisper – and I don’t think that’s fair at all. The people who were there, you wouldn’t get to see them again all season.”

The trouble does not come as a surprise, however, to Gurpreet Chahal, landlord of The Weavers Arms.

“Two months ago the players were barred,” said Mr Chahal, who has been quizzed by police about the Sowe Common fracas. I told them ‘I don’t want you’. All that shouting and language on Sundays – I was losing customers. I think they drink up the road now.”

Diplomat FC, a Premier Division One side who were last year’s cup winners, have been exonerated following the vicious Sunday encounter. Club contact Johnny Hawkins refused to discuss the incident, saying only: “It was frightening. Put yourself in the players’ shoes.”

Birmingham County FA discipline manager Mike Fellows

Birmingham County FA discipline manager Mike Fellows has heaped praise on police over the way they handled the trouble.

The 67-year-old said: “They did a brilliant job. I dread the thought of what might have happened if the referee had been on his own.”

Sergeant Philip Horton, from Wyken and Lower Stoke neighbourhood policing team, said: “Thanks to local information which indicated a possible clash between two groups at a local football match, we were able to ensure that a robust policing presence was put in place.

“Early into the match it became clear that two groups of people had attended the game intent on making trouble. The match was abandoned by the officials and we effectively dispersed the groups before any disorder could take place.

“Officers found, and recovered, a number of items including knives and hammers which had been discarded at the side of the pitch. The preventative policing approach ultimately halted any clash and ensured the safety of families and other spectators at the venue.”